Brian Vigneault, 35, died on Sunday during a 24-hour video game livestream he had been hosting for charity

A Virginia man mysteriously died while taking part in a 24-hour video game marathon on Sunday.

Brian Vigneault, 35, had been hosting a gaming challenge to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and had spent days before the charity event livestreaming for 20 hours, according to gamer website Kotaku.

Vigneault, who had gone by the username of Poshybrid, had developed a fan base in the World of Tanks community, where he frequently live streamed on Twitch, a gaming platform for Amazon.

During the 22nd hour of the marathon around 4.30pm EST, Vigneault paused for a cigarette break, but never returned to the game, stream moderators said.

Virginia Beach police responded to reports of an 'unresponsive individual' and pronounced him dead at the scene.

Other players had assumed he had fallen asleep, but later realized Vigneault had died when a detective confirmed his death in a message to a fellow gamer on Discord, a text chat for gamers, Kokatu said. Police have yet to determine a cause of death and are investigating.

According to Vigneault's Twitch account, his stream raised over $10,917.20 for veterans and children's charity organizations.

The avid gamer, also known as Poshybrid, pictured during the charity stream, stepped away for a cigarette break, but never returned to the game

The father-of-three was found dead in his home, but a cause of death has not been yet determined

While the father-of-three is believed to be the first person to die on Twitch, he would not be the first report of a death caused by playing video games.

There have been cases of gamers in South Korea and Taiwan who have died while playing for long periods of time. It is possible Vigneault died from sleep deprivation or heart complications, according to PVP Live.

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Vigneault's Twitch account has been turned into a 'memorial channel' by fans.

The Facebook gaming community FAME took to social media to pay tribute to the avid gamer.

According to Vigneault's Twitch account, his stream raised over $10,917.20 for veterans and children's charity organizations

Vigneault, also known as Poshybrid, had developed a fan base in the World of Tanks community, where he frequently live streamed on Twitch, a gaming platform for amazon

'Sad news from Virginia beach, one of the most famous NA streamers and a member of our clan Poshybrid has passed away at the age of 35 , we just can not find words to describe how sad is this moment for all of us and for sure this game will not be the same without the legend,' they said in a post.

'Maybe the saddest lines can not really be written , and the saddest thoughts can not really be uttered , let's all hope that he is in a better place right now and may his soul Rest in Peace , he will never be forgotten ... a person who stays in our hears never dies... '